Yann Miao said that their tribe is a cursed lineage, but Lu Ye couldn't figure out what was going on and didn't bother to delve into it.

However, from Yann Miao's words, it was clear that the Merfolk Race held the Constellation Palace in great reverence. Now that he had appeared here, they regarded him as a person favored by the Constellation Palace, naturally not daring to harbor any adverse thoughts.

Lu Ye couldn't help but scoff in his heart. Favored, my foot. He was brought here by the Constellation Palace and couldn't even participate in the scheduled tournament. If the Constellation Palace truly favored him, why would they bring him here at this point in time? They could have done it earlier or later.

Although Yann Miao was sincere, Lu Ye really didn't want to be a guest at the Royal Conch Palace.

Just as he was about to shake his head in refusal, Yann Miao said, "I noticed you were helping the Divine Temple clear out some debris earlier? Perhaps I could deploy some of my clan members to assist, as a gesture of goodwill from my tribe to the Divine Temple."

This... might not be a bad idea!

Lu Ye was currently troubled by one problem, which was whether the fire-type treasure he had spent ten million spirit jade on would be enough. During the weeding process, the Talent Tree consumed a significant amount of fuel. If this process dragged on too long and he ran out of fire-type treasures, the Talent Tree would be left without fuel, hindering his further exploration of the All Phenomena Ocean.

If the Merfolk Race could spare some people to help, it would naturally be the best solution.

However, Lu Ye understood that this was clearly a condition, though expressed very tactfully.

After a brief contemplation, given their sincerity, it seemed inappropriate to refuse again, so he nodded and said, "Very well, then I'll have to trouble you."

Seeing his agreement, Bai Lu was visibly pleased.

There wasn't much to prepare for the journey back. The Merfolk Race had arrived riding seahorses, and since there were no extra seahorses for Lu Ye, he had to share a ride with a male merman.

I must admit, the seahorse star beasts swim much faster through the All Phenomena Ocean than he could.

On the way, he glanced at Bai Lu and saw her sitting side-saddle on the seahorse, suddenly realizing. He had been wondering how Bai Lu, having only a fish tail and no legs, would manage to ride. Now it seemed he had worried unnecessarily.

As they journeyed, Lu Ye remained vigilant of their surroundings, for the depths of the All Phenomena Ocean were not peaceful. When he had tried to swim out earlier, he had even encountered a Sun Blaze star beast.

However, Sun Blaze star beasts were not numerous even in the All Phenomena Ocean, so they did not encounter another one on this trip, though they did come across a Moon Jade level star beast.

Yann Miao, evidently prepared, took out a small conch-like treasure and gently blew into it. A low sound emanated, and Lu Ye could sense the mysterious power within it, though he couldn't discern its exact nature.

Strangely, the Moon Jade star beast, which had initially intended to attack them, turned around and left upon hearing the sound.

This left Lu Ye marveling in amazement.

He transmitted to Bai Lu, "With such a treasure in Elder Yann Miao's hand, why do you still get attacked?" Lu Ye didn't know the exact power of the conch, but the result clearly had an expelling effect.

Bai Lu replied, "Although the magic sea conch in the Great Elder's hand is marvelous, it only works on single enemies and can't be used on a large scale. If there are too many enemies, it becomes ineffective."

Lu Ye nodded, indicating he understood. As they traveled, witnessing the various types of star beasts residing in the depths of the All Phenomena Ocean opened his eyes greatly.

He couldn't quite understand, with so many star beasts in the depths of the All Phenomena Ocean, why had he never heard of them before, nor seen any signs of them in the shallower waters? Prior to delving deeper, he had only encountered a single type, the White Spirit.

The Merfolk Race's habitat wasn't far from the Constellation Palace, and under the full-speed journey of the seahorse star beasts, it took them less than half a day's time to arrive.

From a distance, Lu Ye saw a glow of dense light. In the dark depths of the ocean, such a glow was extremely conspicuous.

He had a faint sense of familiarity with the color of the light, a suspicion arose in his mind, but he dared not confirm it.

It wasn't until they got closer that he realized his guess was indeed correct.

He was utterly shocked.

Because as far as the eye could see, the source of that iridescent glow was indeed a vast, sprawling spirit jade mine!

Lu Ye had been wondering, in this vast ocean without any clear landmarks, where the Merfolk Race might dwell. Most star beasts have no concept of a fixed habitat, drifting with the ocean currents, but the Merfolk Race clearly couldn't live like that.

Now he understood that their abode was atop such a spirit jade vein.

The spirit jade vein was enormous and expansive, like a coral reef stretching beyond the horizon. Within the veins, clusters of spirit jade had, over countless millennia of ocean currents, been crafted into all sorts of bizarre shapes. Harmless fish swam leisurely through holes, appearing carefree, and occasionally, the silhouette of a merman could be seen, evidently on guard.

However, upon seeing Bai Lu and Yann Miao, they all respectfully saluted.

Yann Miao smiled slightly and said, "Taibai, my friend, you won't find such a view outside, will you?"

Lu Ye looked around, dazzled by the sight, and nodded, saying, "I never expected your noble territory to be so magnificent and grand."

Indeed, such scenery was improbable outside. Not only did environments perfect for such marvelous spirit jade veins not exist, but if they did, they would have long been mined beyond recognition by cultivators.

On the contrary, here, with minimal signs of mining, the creator's amazing handiwork seemed eternal, deserving to endure forever.

However, Lu Ye keenly noticed the traces of a fierce battle here, clearly left from the recent invasion of the merfolk tribe's territory.

Continuing forward, moments later, Lu Ye witnessed a spectacular scene.

Right at the center of this spirit jade vein, there was a natural-looking pit, and in that pit stood a giant sea conch.

Recalling the information received earlier, Lu Ye estimated this must be the Royal Conch Palace of the merfolk tribe!

This place must undoubtedly also be the central hub of the merfolk tribe.

Upon closer examination, the conch showed signs of weathering from endless ages. It was clearly not alive, unknown how many years it had been dead, yet even so, Lu Ye could feel a heavy aura emanating from its shell.

If this thing were alive, it would at least be a Sun Blaze!

Strong male merfolk were stationed outside the Royal Conch Palace. Bai Lu and Yann Miao led Lu Ye to the entrance below the palace, dismounting from their seahorse star beasts.

The stationed male merfolk greeted them respectfully.

Yann Miao said, "Our queen is awaiting your arrival, please come in with me."

Lu Ye naturally had no objections, and since he was here, he should pay a visit to the master of the place.

But then again, the king of a race... what kind of majesty should he possess?

Along with Yann Miao and Bai Lu, Lu Ye entered the Royal Conch Palace and clearly felt some strange power fluctuations, akin to when he activated Void Spirit Runes, which, according to Tang Jun, should be the ebb and flow of space power.

From the outside, the Royal Conch Palace did not seem small, but once inside, it became apparent that the interior was much larger. Lu Ye immediately understood that this palace indeed possessed some mysterious spatial power, revealing a whole new world within.

There was no seawater inside the Royal Conch Palace, similar to the Constellation Palace. Lu Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief, as being constantly surrounded by seawater was continuously consuming the fuel for his Talent Tree, which was quite painful for him.

They appeared in a great hall with passages in four directions, all guarded by male merfolk. Yann Miao gestured to lead Lu Ye down the front passage.

Bai Lu, walking beside him, said, "Li Taibai, don't be too surprised when you meet our queen later."

"Why?" Lu Ye was puzzled, as her words implied that he would surely be surprised upon seeing their queen.

"Hehe, you'll find out soon enough." Bai Lu didn't elaborate and instead left him in suspense.

Lu Ye refrained from probing further, knowing he would soon see the truth for himself.

After taking a few turns, they finally arrived outside a grand hall.

Lu Ye noticed one thing: within the merfolk tribe, males seemed to hold a lower status. All along the way, those guarding were male merfolk, and given that their king was also female, Lu Ye speculated that this tribe was likely one of the rare few where females were revered.

Among the stellar space, such tribes are few but do exist.

Outside the grand hall, Yann Miao led Lu Ye inside.

Lu Ye immediately felt several gazes fall upon him. Looking up, he saw that on both sides of the spacious hall stood two merfolk each, totaling four, of whom only one was male; the rest were all female.

These four merfolk all exuded the aura of the Moon Jade Realm, clearly all Moon Jade cultivators.

Centered in the high position stood a small figure, wearing a crown and holding a scepter-like object beside her.

For her, the scepter was unquestionably long; she stood by it, and it towered over her by a considerable margin.

The face beneath the crown was very youthful...

Lu Ye finally understood why Bai Lu had earlier cautioned him not to be too shocked upon meeting their queen.

The queen of the merfolk tribe was actually a child!

Judging by her appearance, she seemed about ten years old. Of course, the growth of the merfolk might differ from the human race, and she might be older, but she clearly hadn't matured.

Previously, Lu Ye had heard Bai Lu was a princess of the merfolk tribe and assumed their queen was Bai Lu's mother, expecting her to be a mature woman, but unexpectedly, she was a child. How did their relations work?

Her clear eyes reflected the same color as Bai Lu's, with a hint of innocence. Yet, that small body still tried to maintain the dignity of a king.

Lu Ye locked eyes with her, seeing curiosity in her gaze.

Yann Miao bowed and said, "Queen, our tribe's most honored guest has arrived."